Colonial One

Colonial One

Colonial One, formerly Colonial Heavy 798, was a Colonial transport ship designed to take government workers across the Cyrannus star system on official business. Following the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, it became a Presidential residence and was where government business in the Fleet was conducted.

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In the hours leading up to the Fall, Colonial Heavy 798 departed from Caprica City to the Battlestar Galactica, transporting Secretary of Education Laura Roslin, the priestess Elosha and representatives of the media. The bombing of Caprica coincided with its journey back, and it and all over civilian ships was ordered to remain stationary in its space lane while combat broke out. With the Colonial defeat becoming a serious possibility, Roslin took control of the ship and ordered it take on emergency work as a mobile aide station and, when Case Orange was enacted, became President. The ship, rechristened Colonial One, became the administrative basis of a refugee fleet created with the aide of Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii. When the Cylons discovered the fleet, half of the ships were left behind as all FTL-capable vessels received President Roslin's orders to evacuate to Ragnar. After rendezvousing with Galactica, the fleet departed the star system altogether in search of Earth. Though Galactica would coordinate military strategy, Colonial One was as much a target to the Cylons as any ship and, five days after the attacks, the ship was nearly destroyed by a missile.[1] In the second month after the attack, Colonial One was boarded by a Galactica Marine unit, when Commander Adama deemed President Roslin's orders to Lt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace to pose a threat to fleet security.

After the discovery and colonization of New Caprica, Colonial One landed on the planet's surface and served as the residence and office of President Gaius Baltar. The following year, it was commandeered in the Cylon occupation as a joint-Baltar-Cylon chamber. During the liberation of New Caprica and the evacuation of its human population, Colonial One was recaptured by an armed force protecting Roslin, and departed the colony with President Baltar left behind. With the loss of Cloud 9 just prior to colonisation, Colonial One served the additional role of hosting meeting with the Quorum of Twelve. These meetings ended during the mutiny on Galactica, when Vice President Tom Zarek had a mutinous marine unit massacre the delegates after refusing to legitimise the mutiny. Colonial One was ultimately destroyed after finding a planet rechristened Earth. On Admiral Adama's orders, Galactica and the rest of the fleet were directed into its sun.

It is a small, FTL-capable ship that is dwarfed by the Battlestar Galactica. The ship can easily dock within one of Galactica's flight pods. Colonial One can also land on and take off from a planetary surface.

Although the call sign is based on the real-world United States protocol of referring to any Air Force, Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, or civilian aircraft as, respectively, "Air Force One", "Marine One", "Army One", "Navy One", "Coast Guard One" or "Executive One" when the President is aboard, Colonial One retains this moniker throughout the series, irrespective of the President's presence or absence and is never again referred to as Colonial Heavy 798, apart from during a flashback to before the holocaust; likewise, neither Galactica nor any other vessel adopts the name when the President is aboard.